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Hard Rock files documents with DEP in first step toward building small-scale Atlantic City casino

ATLANTIC CITY - Hard Rock International, one of the best known
brands in gaming and entertainment, has submitted its long-awaited
plans for what would be the first of two smaller-scale casino
hotels allowed in Atlantic City under a new state law.

Newly filed documents with the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection show the $275 million project would be
built in phases, eventually topping out at 850 hotel rooms, far
more than the 200-room minimum required by the law.

Details are contained in Hard Rock's application with the DEP
for a Coastal Area Facility Review Act permit, a key prerequisite
for building projects at the New Jersey shore. The casino is
proposed at the southern end of the Boardwalk, at the foot of the
Route 40 entryway.

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Hard Rock, owned by the Florida-based Seminole Indian tribe, is
the first company to propose one of the two smaller Boardwalk
casinos allowed under a law signed by Gov. Chris Christie in
January.

Previously, New Jersey law required at least 500 hotel rooms for
casino construction. One of the new, smaller casinos could have as
few as 200 rooms, while the other could start at that size but
would be required to expand up to 500 rooms within five years. Hard
Rock has indicated all along that it is interested in building at
least 500 rooms, said state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic.

"My understanding is that they are looking to initially bring in
a project under 500 rooms and eventually get above 500 rooms," said
Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor and chief sponsor of the
legislation allowing smaller casinos.

Whelan and Mayor Lorenzo Langford welcomed the Hard Rock
project, but both cautioned that the application for a state
environmental permit does not guarantee that the casino will
actually be built.

"This is a procedural step," Langford said. "Now, it's just wait
and see."

Hard Rock representatives in New Jersey and Florida did not
return calls Tuesday seeking comment.

Whelan estimated it will be months before construction would
begin, adding that "we're a long way from the finish line." He has
been pushing the Hard Rock project to create jobs and help
reinvigorate the Atlantic City casino market, now mired in a
41/2-year revenue slump.

"What I've been saying all along is if we bring exciting new
product to Atlantic City, we can succeed in this market," Whelan
said. "But I think you have to be careful in designating one or two
projects as a savior. We have a tendency to look at things as the
next best thing to solve all of our problems for all times."

Last week, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission approved the
formal process for developers to apply for a license to build the
two smaller casinos. The commission's guidelines set an Aug. 19
deadline for applications. In addition, the commission wants
would-be developers to file a "notice of interest" by July 8
expressing their desire to build the casinos.

Whelan noted that Hard Rock is the only company so far to move
ahead at a serious level. He added, however, that other companies
may come forward now that Hard Rock is clearly in the running.

"If they realize that Hard Rock is for real and there is only
one more license remaining, then they will say, ‘We've got to get
going here,'" Whelan said.

Hard Rock International's portfolio of music-themed venues
includes 134 cafes and 15 casino hotels in 50 countries, making it
a globally recognized brand. In addition to its two flagship
Seminole Hard Rock casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla., the
company owns the world's biggest collection of rock music
memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the
world.

Although Hard Rock is on track to be the first of the two
smaller-scale casinos, it won't be the next Atlantic City gaming
project to open. Revel Entertainment Group is scheduled to open its
$2.4 billion Boardwalk megaresort May 15, 2012.

Revel's casino, which will feature 1,100 guest rooms, a
150,000-square-foot gaming floor and an array of upscale
restaurants, nightclubs, pools and other nongaming attractions, is
a throwback to the old building requirements for Atlantic City
casinos.

Hard Rock's casino, while smaller than the older generation of
gaming halls, still requires the same Coastal Area Facility Review
Act permit from the DEP for oceanfront construction. DEP spokesman
Larry Hajna could not say how long it would take for the agency to
complete its review and decide on the permit.

"We'll be very thorough, but at the same time we're giving this
project a high priority," Hajna said.

Hard Rock has a partnership with the New York-based investment
group Och-Ziff Real Estate to finance the project. Hard Rock's site
is the same property where the ill-fated Dunes Casino was proposed
years ago. The Dunes went bust and was torn down after it was
partially built at Albany Avenue and the Boardwalk.

More recently, the old Dunes site was supposed to be used for
the proposed $1.5 billion to $2 billion Atlantic Beach Resort &
Casino by the AC Gateway LLC development group. AC Gateway, headed
by Atlantic City and Cape May hotel owner Curtis Bashaw, scrapped
the project during the recession. Bashaw is part of the Hard Rock
casino project but in a smaller role than his involvement with the
former Atlantic Beach development.

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